Cast of "Irena's Vow' says story will leave audiences thinking

Friday

Nov 29, 2013 at 6:00 AM

By Michael Kane, BANNER EDITOR

WEST BOYLSTON — Thought provoking drama is what the cast and crew are hoping the audience finds when "Irena's Vow" is performed at the West Boylston Middle/High School next Friday and Saturday, Dec. 6 and 7.

The play, written by Dan Gordon, tells the true story of Irena Gut, a 19-year-old Polish woman and head housekeeper of a Nazi commandant's home. When Gut hears that the Jewish ghetto is about to be liquated, she hides her Jewish friends in the basement of the Nazi home, through parties, blackmail and a childbirth, according to the play's synopsis on the website, playcripts.com

The play is part of a double-feature, of sorts, according to teacher and Drama Club advisor Carolyn Somma. The play will be preceded by short, student-written and performed soliloquies in a performance being billed as "Children of the Holocaust."

The soliloquies had been part of Somma's plan since she had read the script for "Irena's Vow," she said.

"I thought, there is so much we can do with this material, if enough kids want to be part of the production, then we can do this," she said.

As it turned out, many more students did try out for the play than there were parts available. So, Somma followed through on her plan.

The soliloquies are written by the students, but based on the real lives of Holocaust survivors.

The Drama Club had already been working with Dr. Sarah Cushman, academic liaison officer at the Clark University Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies on the history behind "Irena's Vow." Since Clark is one of the 45 locations that the USC Shoah Foundation keeps its 52,000 video interviews of Holocaust survivors, Cushman was able to provide the students with information and biographies on their subjects, Somma said.

The USC Shoah Foundation was founded by Steven Spielberg after he made the film "Schindler's List" to preserve the history and the testimony of survivors. During the performances, pictures from the subjects' lives will be projected onto the auditorium's big screen, Somma said.

"They are written and performed by the students, but they are the stories of real people," Somma said. "(Students) studied and learned about the person they would be portraying with Dr. Cushman's assistance."

First, the school's theme for the 2013-14 school year was courage, which Somma sought to capture with this year's play.

"When I started looking in the summer, I was looking for something that reflected that theme, to tell the story of someone who was courageous," Somma said. "'The Diary of Anne Frank' is wonderful, but it's been done. This is a very moving story, and it's a story we should never forget."

The play also offered the student actors the personal challenge they desired.

The club had produced several comedies in recent years, and many of the students also take part in the annual play competitions, which also tend to be comedies. The leads of "Irena's Vow," junior Tyler Armey and senior Kelsey Book, say the play, which marks the fifth fall drama for the two seniors, was a welcome change.

"It's certainly very different (from comedies)," Book said. "It's much more difficult to act in it, but in a positive way."

Armey and Book also noted that there is also a difference between playing a fictional character, for which you have leeway, and real characters, whose responses and actions are part of history.

"You do think harder," Armey said. "You feel like you have to live up to someone. You are always thinking, I wonder how they would act in this situation, what they would do. You are kind of honoring them, in a way."

In her message to parents, Somma cautioned that the material was very difficult, emotionally. in that regard, the leads think the play will resonate for the audience long after they leave the auditorium.

"It's not like (the school's) other plays," Armey said. "You are going to leave here with something to think about."

Book agreed, noting comedies are about the moment - a line is delivered and the audience reacts. She, like Armey, thinks "Irena's Vow" will leave audiences thinking.

"This play makes you feel for the characters," she said. "You enjoy when they succeed. It stays with (the audience) longer."

"It will have so much more of an impact on the audience," Armey said. "When you do a drama, it sends a message to them that there may be something relevant to their lives."

While Somma wanted the students and parents to consider the play's content before committing, she has no doubts the cast is up to the challenge.

"I can't say enough about this cast," Somma said. "They've been really dedicated to it. It makes it a joy for me. They are wonderful."

"Irena's Vow" and "Children of the Holocaust" will begin at 7 p.m. on Dec. 6 and 7.

The total running time for both shows will be between two and two-and-a-half hours.